MLB Player News

Wacha notched his fourth victory of spring by striking out four while allowing two earned runs on five hits and one walk over four innings Wednesday versus the Nationals.

Wacha got his work in as he'd hoped this spring, making a total of seven trips to the mound and finishing with a 2.42 ERA and 22 strikeouts over his 26 frames. Per Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the right-hander also honed his curveball into a consistent and effective weapon while regaining the steep angle on his fastball that last season's shoulder woes had robbed him of. Wacha hit 97 mph on the gun Wednesday, which also marked the first game that backstop Yadier Molina had an opportunity to catch him this spring. The 2015 17-game winner is slated to start either the third or fourth game of the season for the Cardinals, with Lance Lynn's (ribs) health likely to be the determining factor as to which.

Stripling has been named one of the Dodgers' relievers to begin the season, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

The Dodgers already announced that Stripling was no longer an option for the rotation, but the team decided to keep him on the team as a right-handed long relief option. The 27-year-old won't have fantasy value in that role, but he could potentially join the rotation at some point during the season, considering the injury history of Rich Hill, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu. If Stripling were to enter the rotation at any point this year, he would gain deep-league value after posting a 3.96 ERA over 100 innings in 2016.

The Rockies announced Gray as their Opening Day starter.

Gray was dealing with a toe issue recently but appears to be over that. He'll line up to start the road contest against the Brewers in hitter-friendly Miller Park. Gray surprisingly posted a 4.91 road ERA in 2016 compared to a 4.30 ERA during his home starts in hitters' haven Coors Field, but the relatively small sample size is likely to blame for those splits. He is the rare Rockies pitcher with good enough stuff to be useful in the bulk of his starts this season, regardless of venue.

Greinke served up three runs on six hits over four innings in his final Cactus League start Wednesday against the Mariners.

According to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, Greinke's fastball velocity sat mostly in the 88-to-89 mile-per-hour range Wednesday, about three ticks below what he's averaged over the past three seasons. Springtime velocity dips aren't uncommon for pitchers as they shake off the rust from the long offseason, but considering Greinke is embarking on his age-33 campaign, it's possible that this is just the beginning of the degradation of his arsenal. Those who were planning on targeting Greinke as a bounce-back candidate in drafts and auctions this season may want to consider revisiting that plan, as he's offered little confidence that a major improvement from last season's 4.37 ERA and 7.6 K/9 rate will be in order. He'll wrap up the spring with a 5.06 ERA and just five strikeouts over his 10.2 innings.

Lugo is still competing for a bullpen spot with the major-league club, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

New York can only keep one arm between Lugo and Rafael Montero because the team is carrying Josh Edgin, who's out of options. The loser between Lugo and Montero will remain stretched out as a starting pitcher at Triple-A Las Vegas as the likely first replacement when a need in the rotation arises. New York should make a decision in the coming days.

Wheeler will start the season as the No. 4 starting pitcher, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

Steven Matz's elbow injury will keep him out for at least another three weeks, so Wheeler winds up with a rotation gig out of the gate. The right-hander twirled a gem over five shutout innings Monday and might wind up looking good for fantasy owners earlier than expected. Fantasy players searching for depth should look to add him if he wasn't selected, or keep his name in bold during the late rounds of upcoming mixed-league drafts. Of course, owners should keep in mind the Mets might treat him with caution at times this year, and whenever Matz is ready to return, New York may have to make some tough decisions regarding the rotation.

Matz (elbow) won't attempt to throw for another three weeks, MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reports.

His MRI came back negative, but he still received a PRP injection, and is now a lock to open the year on the disabled list. Zack Wheeler and Robert Gsellman won the final two rotation spots, but both are overqualified to pitch at the back of a rotation, so the Mets can afford to be patient with Matz.

Wood will start the season in the Dodgers' bullpen, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

As suspected, Wood lost out to Brandon McCarthy for the final spot in the Dodgers' starting rotation, sending him to the bullpen to open the year. The 26-year-old pitched well for most of spring, but his last outing may have done him in, as he allowed six runs on 11 hits across six frames. He'll head to back to the bullpen, where he's enjoyed success before.

Ryu will start the Dodgers' fifth game of the season, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

It was reported earlier in the week that Ryu would be in the rotation to start the year, but manager Dave Roberts just confirmed Wednesday that it will be the fifth game of the season, against the Rockies, that he will start. The 30-year-old had been hampered by injuries this spring, putting his status for Opening Day in question, but now that he finally appears to be healthy, the southpaw will look to regain his form from 2013 and 2014 (combined 28-15, 3.17 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over 56 starts).

Wainwright gave up three earned runs on five hits over five innings in Tuesday's 3-3 Grapefruit League tie with the Mets.

The right-hander wrapped up spring with a solid outing save for one glaring mistake -- the three-run home run he gave up to Lucas Duda in the bottom of the fourth inning. Otherwise, Wainwright allowed just five baserunners over his five frames and gained a bit of redemption against a team that had tagged him for 10 earned runs in 1.2 innings back on March 17. The Cardinals' projected No. 2 starter, Wainwright will try to build on the 13 wins he notched last season while lowering the career-high 4.62 ERA that was also part of his 2016 campaign.